Pastoral Notes

Pastoral Notes by Fr. Will

• It is a great joy to announce that Fr. Albert Zapf will be assigned to Saint Aidan Parish. Fr. Al is a humble and prayerful man. He will begin on January 28, 2021. Please join me in welcoming him.
   
• We have safely opened the doors at two of our Sunday mass times. 7:00 a.m. at Saint Alphonsus Church and 8:00 a.m. at Saint Alexis Church. We require masks, social distancing, sanitizing of hands, and following proper cleaning procedures recommended by the Diocese of Pittsburgh and the CDC. The track record of many other parishes in the diocese has shown that following adequate safety protocols allow for a safe place to gather at church to worship the Lord. Air quality tests are in the process, and I am committed to continuous improvements to provide a safe environment for worship.
   
• We had 46 people at 7:00 a.m. mass and 91 at 8:00 a.m. mass well within each church's social distancing capacity.
   
• I will be reviewing the results of the indoor/outdoor mass survey. I am grateful that we received over 700 responses. I will discern the best course of action for mass locations. There will be options for both indoor and outdoor Mass as long as it is needed. We are set up so that you can listen to Mass on 89.5 FM regardless of indoor or outdoor Mass.
   
• Annual March for Life – since this year's March for Life has gone entirely virtual, we will recognize this day with three events:
  • Praise & Worship Holy Hour of Adoration 6:00 p.m. Thursday, January 28 – Saint Alexis Church
  • Vigil Mass for Life 7:00 p.m. that same day, following the Holy Hour Saint Alexis Church
  • Solemn Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
    • Friday, January 29, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. at Saint Alphonsus Church
       
• The Nativity scenes will remain in each church until February 2, Feast of Presentation of the Lord. We will celebrate this feast with the annual Blessing of Candles preceding the 8:00 a.m. mass at Saint Alexis Church (7:45 a.m. in the narthex)
   
• I am excited that Darcy Osby initiated the parish subscription to Formed.org It has incredible content. See the bulletin announcement for more details. If you would like to sponsor the parishes subscription, please contact me at [email protected]
   
• Feast Day of Saint Aidan – Sunday, January 31, marks our new parish's first feast day under Saint Aidan of Ferns' patronage. All of our masses will be honoring Saint Aidan. We will also have a Holy Hour with Eucharistic Adoration and Solemn Evening Prayer at 4:00 p.m. at Saint Alphonsus Church. I invite you to come to celebrate with us the First Feast Day of our parish. Saint Aidan, pray for us.